University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Western Carolina
Behind Shells' Career Night, Spiders Tame Catamounts In Season Opener
11/12/2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2010
CULLOWHEE, N.C. -
Senior Brittani Shells poured in a career-best 34 points and grabbed three steals as the Spiders (1-0) cruised past Western Carolina, 79-65, Friday night in Cullowhee, N.C.
Shells, who previously scored a career-high 32 points against Morgan State last December, was unstoppable from every spot on the court. Shells went 10-for-19 from the field, 4-for-8 from long range and tied a career-high sinking 10-of-11 tries from the charity stripe.
The supporting cast didn't disappoint either, as frosh Genevieve Okoro pulled down a team-high 12 boards to go along with five points. Nine Spiders recorded tallies, as Crystal Goring followed Shells with an 11-point, nine rebound performance.
Samantha Bilney started her first start since Feb. '09 and chipped in with seven rebounds and five points.
Richmond went on an 11-2 run midway through the first half to give itself breathing room at 20-10 with 10:52 remaining. The Catamounts would claw back to a seven-point deficit but the Spiders responded with another scoring spree to take a 41-29 advantage at the break.
The Spiders looked to be in cruise control early in the second half, pushing their lead to the largest of the game at 53-35 with 15 minutes remaining. But just as it looked as though Richmond had provided the knockout punch, the Catamounts roared to a comeback. Western Carolina scored 11 consecutive points to put the game back into conversation at 53-46 with 11:37 left.
The Catamounts stuck around for the next five minutes, even cutting the deficit to 58-57 with 6:42 to go, but Kara Powell responded with a clutch three in the corner to give the Spiders a four-point cushion. After the Powell long ball, Richmond buried any hope the Catamounts had with a 12-0 run to put the game out of reach.
The Spiders outrebounded Western Carolina, 43-36 and recorded seven blocks. The Richmond bench accounted for 17 points and tallied 26 points off Catamount turnovers.
Head coach Michael Shafer moves to 5-1 in season-openers and Richmond goes to 62-31 all-time in season openers. Richmond moves to 2-0 in the series with the Catamounts.
Richmond continues its road swing with East Tennessee State Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
